“The launch of Zune pitches Microsoft into direct competition with Apple but few think that, initially, it will have the clout to upset the dominance of iTunes and the iPod,” Mark Ward reports for BBC News.
“At launch Microsoft will only be offering one Zune player – a 30GB model with a 7.6cm colour screen and FM radio that comes in black, white or brown. Also at launch the Zune service will only offer music and associated art. Movies and TV shows will come later,” Ward reports. “‘They put a big screen designed for movies, but there are no movies for it,’ said analyst Rob Enderle. ‘That is a design mistake.'”
“Built in to every Zune device is a wireless music sharing system. The short range data swapping system lets Zune owners beam tracks, playlists and images to other Zune players nearby,” Ward reports. “Tracks shared in this way can be listened to three times or kept for three days before they disappear. This ability to share is at the heart of Microsoft’s ambitions for the player and the way it hopes to differentiate itself from what it dubs the ‘closed’ world of Apple’s iTunes.”
Full article here.
Microsoft has made their usual mistake. They looked around for something to differentiate themselves from Apple and hit upon “sharing.” That doesn’t mean it’s a desired feature by consumers. Ask yourself how many times you wished you could beam a song to a friend. Probably a few times, right? An odd time here or there for most, right? It gets worse. Now ask yourself how many times you wished you could beam a song to a friend that they could only listen to three times or keep for three days before it disappeared from their iPod. Never, right? Typical Microsoft: they do it because its possible – technology for technology’s sake – not because it’s a particularly useful feature and then they don’t do it very well at all. How do real humans share? It’s called “iPod jacking” and it’s decidedly less techno, but done far more often: you unplug your headphones from your iPod and plug into your friend’s iPod to hear the song. Done. Sharing accomplished. Now get off my iPod!
For this reason, and many others, Microsoft Zune will fail because Microsoft, as is their modus operandi, doesn’t know and/or care what the customer wants or what features would be good for the use.
Related articles:
BBC online poll asks ‘Will Microsoft’s Zune be a success?’ – September 15, 2006
Microsoft hypocrisy exposed with Zune: What ever happened to ‘choice?’ – September 14, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft Zune with fake scroll wheel ‘hardly an Apple iPod killer’ – September 14, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft Zune won’t spoil Apple’s biggest iPod Christmas ever – September 14, 2006
Microsoft unveils Zune 30GB player, Zune Marketplace; declines to disclose prices – September 14, 2006
Microsoft sees room in music player market for ‘Zune’ to challenge Apple’s dominant iPod – September 06, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft’s Zune an ‘underwhelming’ repackaged Toshiba Gigabeat; no threat to Apple iPod – August 30, 2006
Microsoft confirms brick-like Zune to be made by Toshiba – August 25, 2006
Microsoft Zune is chunky brick made by Toshiba – August 25, 2006
Microsoft to spend hundreds of millions, several years on Zune trying to catch Apple iPod+iTunes – July 27, 2006
Zune: Apple cannot lose. Microsoft cannot win. – July 26, 2006
Can you share photo’s with it? I then could think of a value in the use of the sharing.
How much battery power does beaming songs eat?
THAT’s why Steve Jobs talked about battery life — and new, longer, battery life in his last key note speech.
Zune will die because it’s large screen and wifi will mean it can work for an hour or so in between charges.
If Enderle says Zunes has a design mistake, then Zunes will be wildly successful.
quod erat demonstrandum
just kidding
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Beamed songs 3xlimitation will be hacked in a week. That’s the point.
Satan’s condo just got covered in ice. I actually agree with Enderle on something. He must be high on codeine. I can’t fathom why he just made sense out of the blue.
Will the Zune have a brown screen of death? Nice change.
MDN MW: true
I actually agree this time. But he isn’t baiting anyone, must be someone sitting in for Rob.
If mp3-players are soon to be extinct — replaced by mobile phones — and considering, that Microsoft is admitting, that it will a long time and a lot of money to catch up to Apple. Does that mean that Microsoft are going into this, planning to do a mobile to compete with the iPhone, that Apple is obviously in the process of developing?
one of the biggest mistake MS and others keep making is that they can jump in and start taking market share away from Apple.
They fail over and over again to realize that Apple has a good 3-4 years of engineering and development ahead of them. You cannot design a system with all the features that Apple is offering overnight. it takes time to build up the offering that much offering.
and Apple has not been a sitting duck either. So catching up to Apple will be a daunting task if not impossible. Only a large amount of investment can shrink the gap. and indeed MS does have the resources. however, they do not have the expertise as proven by the Vista/Longhorn debacle.
MS is indeed laying the groundworks for offering video and movies. but offering a big brick like the Zune from the get-go without offering the services to make it attractive is not only a big fashion faux-pas but a strategic mistake.
People will not buy the Zune because it is butt-fcukn’ UGLY. Period. Not because of all the other functions that it has or doesn’t have compared to the iPod.
I disagree with MDN. MDN should give credit where credit is due, even to MS – it will make your criticisms more valuable.
We ‘share’ our phone details via infra-red, we share music and photos via bonjour, we share files on our Macs, even email is a form of sharing. If Apple had brought out this idea and Zune shared only via ‘iPod jacking’ we would laugh at it.
about the screen : it´s half an inch bigger but has the same resolution… = bigger pixels—-
Nobody will see the need to have this big brick just to play music.
in comparison to the Nano, there is no comparison.
Compared to the iPod video, Zune does have a bigger screen but no video. so what is the point.
Zune will be its own downfall.
As MDN likes to say: “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.”
Am I the only one that feels dirty for even agreeing with this nimrod?
It almost makes me want to cheer for the Zune… well, not really.
I have to say, Apple has been very slow at adopting wireless technology in its iPod line. We’ve been hearing rumours of a wireless iPod for, what, two years now?
“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.”
LOL!
Reminds me of:
Squirrel Nut Zippers: “The Inevitable”
actually zune will do ok, it will be the number 2 selling player in a year. don’t be deceived.
and inexplicably Apple gave them even more opportunity with a less than excellent iTunes 7 release.
“Microsoft Points” will be huge. I imagine myself buying points for the kids, for games, zune music and eventually wireless phone services.
It’s going to be a dog fight and Apple will need to partner deeply with Google and probably T-Mobile.
I asked my 11th-grade, iPod-toting son yesterday what he would think about being able to “beam” songs to/from his iPod from/to a friend’s iPod and he said, “It sounds really cool, but I’m not sure how much I’d use it.”
When Zune came out touting this feature, I tried to think of its uses and the first thought I had was the courtyard at his school during lunch — when kids congregate to eat and socialize. I guess parties would be another time/place. So, for the under 21 crowd, the social features may be a draw — but that’s the same demographic that tends to have a “when you pry it from my cold, dead hands” attitude about their ‘Pods.
It will be interesting to see what becomes of the community aspect of Zune. I can remember beaming stuff from my Newton to others’ way back when, and it was really cool.
How far is the range that the songs can be beamed? It’s rare that I’m in a few feet from someone and want them to hear a song. I’d probably just put it on the stereo if I’m in the same room. If we’re in the same office I can share my iTunes (like we all do already).
And if I’m out on the street I’d rather talk to the person or just pass them my iPod to hear the track I’m talking about.
And does it mean that you can share a song wtih some stranger on the subway? Randomly pick someone and hope they have your taste in music and then hope they don’t get off the train before you’ve found something you like that they own?
I wonder how much battery power it uses. I just don’t get this feature really.
As far as the Zune having a big screen and no movies, I can’t see that as a design mistake. That’s just thinking ahead. How can they come to bat with a tiny screen just because currently they don’t have movies. So I’m against Enderle (Yayy!) and with Microsoft (ewwww!) on that one.
My question is, how many viruses will this thing be carrying around inside it? I predict it will carry many and infect other Zunes and PCs with it’s wifi capabilities, just like fleas on rats did during the black plague.
Uhm, hello? What would be the point of a wifi iPod? Sharing music? Why when you can just podjack? So you can be a music server? iPods don’t have the battery life for that (heck, no portable device does, not even a laptop). Uhm, to access other wifi setups, like say a streaming radio? Why? You don’t get an iPod to listen to radio. You get an iPod so that you can listen to tunes YOU want to, not what someone else wants you to listen to. There’s no real reason for wifi. Maybe that’s why Apple has been slow to implement it? Just a thought.
Is it me but is sharing music illegal. Sure they limit the amount but so what. Whether you are for or against or only slightly against downloading coyrighted songs, if it is illegal in the states (not here in Canada), how can MS tout this as a selling point?
Hey kids, buy a Zune and flaunt the laws.
That Enderlie is so ‘Janus’.
In an article about Zune, in the Chicago Tribune, Enderlie is quoted more than once. He sounds like he loves the Zune so much that he’s thinking of kicking Mary out of his bed and replacing her with Zune.
Zune, the name French Canadian kids use for their pepe or dodo or whatever kids call their muzentouchit these days.
The Zune with a should go over big in Quebec.
COMING UP NEXT: Rob Enderle might have an IQ!
“but that’s the same demographic that tends to have a “when you pry it from my cold, dead hands” attitude about their ‘Pods.”
true, but it’s also the age when some sharp marketing can quickly change the game. not saying Microsoft can pull it off, but certainly there’s a big opportunity for them.
“Microsoft Points” will be big, I would love to give my kids a virtual allowance that will conveniently address their music, games and communication addictions. Apple better not sleep on this one. Microsoft is creating an alternate currency.
Oh yeah, Microsoft points will be huge. People are just going to swoon for anything with Microsoft in front of it, right? Those days are dead and over, folks. Let’s face it. Microsoft has become synonymous with late, broken, frustrating, lame, rip-off. The only way out of the Microsoft Malaise is to innovate, something which they haven’t done in…well, ever.